They had better not start celebrating on the Ramblas just yet. The news that Barcelona have agreed terms with Manchester United for the purchase of David Beckham is really neither here nor there. It is, of course, subject not only to the result of the Catalan club's presidential election this weekend but to agreement over the player's personal terms. If he is to leave Old Trafford, Beckham will go exactly where he wants to go. And these days the Nou Camp may come some way down his list of preferred destinations.

The strongest rumours in recent days have been pushing him in the direction of Milan, evoking memories of the last player to wear Manchester United's No7 shirt pondering a similar move. Eventually Eric Cantona changed his mind about the attractions of San Siro, La Scala and the Via della Spiga. And so, for similar reasons, should Beckham.

It was in the summer of 1995 that Cantona put in a transfer request. Coming to the end of his nine-month suspension from English football, he was angered by the reaction to the news that he had taken part in a practice match against Rochdale. Although it was held behind closed doors at United's training ground, it appeared to breach the terms of the suspension, and the FA opened an inquiry.

By asking for a move, he was making a stand not against the club but against English football. He went off to Paris, apparently intending to talk to the representatives of other clubs.

That spring he had received a £4.2m offer from Massimo Moratti, then recently installed as president of Internazionale. Instead he signed a new contract to stay at Old Trafford, worth £3m over three years. But it was assumed Moratti's offer was on his mind when, in exasperation, he put in his request.

Sir Alex Ferguson flew to Paris, where he sweet-talked Cantona back to the club. In truth, however, Cantona knew that in England he had found a place where his talent could find its fullest expression. In Italy it would all have been very different.

In the Premiership, Cantona's touch and vision shone. In Serie A he would not have stood out to such a degree, if at all. The directness of his play would have gone down well there, but his low boiling point would have betrayed him, perhaps fatally.

Even facing England's relatively straightforward defenders, he lost his rag every now and then. In Italy he would have been driven to a state of permanent distraction by the repertoire of sophisticated methods - some of them legitimate - in general use. Cantona saw all that, and stayed put.

As for Beckham, it now looks odds-on that he will be the first of United's "golden generation" to leave Old Trafford. Either of the Milan clubs would be attractive in terms of prestige and living conditions. Silvio Berlusconi's denial of interest this week need not necessarily be taken seriously, and AC Milan would certainly offer a more congenial home than Moratti's Inter, a club in a permanent state of rebuilding. But it is hard to see Beckham, with his English instincts and limitations, flourishing in such a climate.

Spain is another matter, as it would have been for Cantona. Not Barcelona, a club in turmoil on and off the pitch, but Real Madrid, perhaps the only team in the world that could offer Beckham the scope he needs if he is to expand not only his fame but his game.

Real Madrid may fail to win La Liga this season, as they failed to win the European Cup, but they remain a team of brilliant individuals easily capable of integrating one more bringing specialised gifts. At the Bernabeu, Beckham would be expected to move the ball around quickly and deftly and to score from free-kicks. In Spain he would find a style of football that is not stifled by massed defences, and he would not be expected to do anything that does not come naturally, such as tackling back.

If he really wants to learn how to roam across the pitch while maintaining his creative contribution, he could do no better than watch Luis Figo or Zinedine Zidane. And, as happened with Steve McManaman, the fans would appreciate his commitment and a deep seam of altruism that often goes unnoticed.

Beckham would be a loss to English league football. But whereas his departure for Italy might signal the beginning of the end of his career, a move to Madrid could just be the making of him.

Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2001

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